Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-02-18
XXTH LEGISLATURE.
A Warm Discussion in the Senate Over
the Bill TO Provide for Rail.
way Commission.
Repre- Pages Bill Amending the
Assessment Laws Passed to Engross-
ment by the House.
THE SENATE.

/ tFCIE aU3IluS upOu lut ucdlI VI iHe III
| iured person; also te fix the venue of suit:
to recover damages for wroEgfully issu
ing writs Of attachment.
/ BY Senator Jarvis, to authorize cite;
and towns of over 1000 iuhabitap IS to ap
point school trustees.
By Senator Terrell, TO require the lane
commissioner to refund patent fees to The
capitol contractor.
By Senator Glasscock, to authorize
cities 10 hire their convicts.
! By Senator Harrison, to prevent rail
roads from discriminating against each
other, to compel them to receive freight
and passengers from each other anC
transport the same promptly under s
penalty of $1,000 line.
The bill to validate Greer county
! patents was made the special order fol
Friday.
The Kansas suit bill was made tine
special order for Monday next.
The President laid before the Senate
the bill providing tor railroad commit,
/ tee with a substitute, which was adopted
Senator Terrell moved that considera-
ton be postponed until other bills on the
same subject came up. LoSt-yeas, 100;
nays, 1916.
Senator Terre Il, to bring the bill fairly
before the Senate, moved that the enact
! ing clause be stricken out.
Senator Claiborne thought the bill Q
good one and should become a law. He
/ claimed that no one, whether a railroad
man or not, could complain of its pro,
visions. He referred to the discrimina
tons made by the roads both in freight
aud passenger traffic and The bill under
| discussion proposed to remedy the evil.
! Senator Burney said his section of the
/ state didn't have many railroads and
he was not as well posted to
spesk on the subject as the
gentleman from Galveston. He opposed
the bill, saying 1t is not bill to regulate
railroads, but it is bill to create 3 board
for the purpose Of making laws. It's OBJ
Jet is TO create board to make laws snd
then to enforce them, which is contrary
to the genius of republican government.
He thought the enacting clause SHOULD
read "An act to create an arbitrary board
TO make arbitrary laws to arbitrarily en-
Orce them in the regulation of railroads"
stitutional ami without con-
declared. Such a commission was
not in harmony with cur government, and
the bill should never become g law. No
one was crying out that the railroads be
regulated by any such commission. No
memorials have been presented, and no
complaints have been made except on the
part Of the Senate. He read from the
message of Governor Ross in sup
port Of his opposition to the
bill, and he so construed it as to warrant
the belief in his mind that the Governor
would veto such a law. He hoped the
motion to strike cut the enacting clause
would prevail.
Sena.or Terrell took strong grounds
against the bill. He was opposed to
boards, and especially to such board as
the bill proposed to create. Its power
under the bill was absolute
1t gave the board arbitrary power to
make laws and enforce them without the
action being inquired into by the court
or any person. He argued that no one
had asked for such commission, the
people had not asked for it, the Farmers
Alliance had not asked for it, no paper of
respe eta billty had asked for it and it was
not wanted. He read from the re-
ports of the master of the State Grange
and the master of the National Grange,
showing they opposed commissions of
any kind, and preferred wholesome laws
to regulate the railways. He concluded
that railways in the hands of receivers
would comply with the law as
they saw tit, and that no power of the
satte could force them to do other wise,
aud in support Of this Senator Terrell
read from the decision of the United
States courts Of Oregon on the
commission law OF that state.
He alluded to the Georgia COM
mission law, saying the bill in discus
sion was a copy of it and
was known as the Georgia bill.
He characterized Georgia as being the
most regulating railway state in the
country, and showed that it had been so
well regulated in this respect that one Of
the great railroad presidents had been
made United States Senator and another
Governor The railroad influence had
elected Mr.. Brown United States
Senator, and Mr.. Gordon having
made an immense failure Of
OF the waterad stock of the Georgia Pa
cifc Railway had been made Governor.
No wonder Georgia is We'll regulated
railway commission state. With q rail
way United States Senator and 8 railroad
Governor to appoint the rail
road commission 1t could not
fail to be well regulated
in the interest of the railway. With
Major Waldo as Governor, Captain
Fslkner as United States Senator and
Captain Hooker as Rsilroal Commits
sioner, no doubt the commission would
prove we'll in Texas, but it might be bad
for the people. He favored the
regulating of railroads, but he wanted
it done by law, and not by a railroad
board whose acts could not be inquired
into even by the courts of the country.
Pending further discussion of this bill,
the Senate adjourned.
THE HOUSE.
The House resumed consideration CT
Mr.. Pages bill, House bill No. 50, amend
ing the assessment laws. Amendments
were adopted as follows, adding to arti-
Gle 4765, making 1t the duty of the state
Comptroller to sue defaulting collectors:
The words "And il on trial of the case 1t
shall appear that the tax collector without
good and sufficient cause has failed to
comply with said articles, then il shall be
the duty of the court to enter an order
declaring vacant the office of said col
lector;" also striking out in article
4710 that receipts under insurance
policies on buildings shall not be
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